Your nonprofit’s content is a key element to your marketing. It drives traffic and spreads awareness, helping to increase donations and spread your cause to the world.

But visual content takes all that to the next level. It’s more effective than just written content, and it’s surprisingly easy to implement too. Read on for your handy guide to the what, why, and how of visual content marketing for nonprofits.

What is visual content marketing?

You likely already know about content marketing. Put simply, it is the practice by brands, charities, and organizations of marketing through the creation and propagation of digital content such as blogs, videos, images, and so on.

Why use visual content marketing?

In a mobile-first age, visual content is convenient and digestible. Its aesthetic nature makes it more engaging than reams of copy, and gives marketers the freedom to deliver their message in a variety of creative ways. And the stats back it up: people can recall 65% of visual content up to three days after first viewing it, compared with just 10% for written content. This makes visual content more impactful with audiences, conveying your message with clarity.

In the same vein, visual content is more shareable than copy too. Articles with one image for every 75-100 words are shared almost twice as much as articles with fewer or no images. Consequently, your message can reach a much wider audience if it’s delivered in a visual style. While visual content shouldn’t replace your written posts, it should complement them. A diverse content strategy is more effective, seeing higher engagement and boosting awareness of your nonprofit as a result. Read more »

This edition of the Speaker Discovery Series invites fundraisers to share their stories on the theme of…

Secrets.

What is the secret behind your success as a fundraiser? Did you ever have to hide something crucial from your colleagues? What about your career would really surprise people? Has your organization ever had really exciting news you had to keep under your hat until the big announcement?

We don’t always have the option of being forthcoming with everyone around us. Sometimes we have to walk a delicate line and not share everything that might be on our minds. Maybe you needed to get something off your chest but could never find the right time or you thought sharing would be too risky. We’re encouraging speakers (who feel comfortable) to come share a secret or two with their fellow fundraising professionals.

We hope you’ll consider submitting and joining this night of delightful disclosures, captivating confessions, and no longer secret stories. The April 2019 edition of the SDS is the perfect time to share your secret in a safe and welcoming environment!

Let’s all share and support each other while exploring the theme of secrets in fundraising.

It can be hard to find your chance to shine. If every conference wants experience, how do you get experience speaking at conferences? That’s why AFP Toronto began the Speaker Discovery Series (SDS). We want to give first-time speakers an opportunity to receive coaching, mentorship, and constructive feedback.

Those who are interested in fundraising and want to know all about the important aspects of it can get really valuable information from fundraising blogs. The confusing part is that there are so many blogs which are concerned with this topic that it is hard to pick the best ones.

For this purpose, I have done some research and surfaced 7 best fundraising blogs for 2019 that offer inspiration, good ideas, and informative content. If you want a high-quality education in fundraising these are the blogs you should look into.

The AFP Toronto Blog (the one you’re currently reading) – As the largest AFP Chapter in the world, the AFP Toronto blog hosts content that benefits both members and non-members to provide varied resources for today’s fundraisers and those working in the non-profit sector. The Chapter also frequently accepts submissions from guest contributors to provide an array of diverse perspectives from people working directly in the field! Interested in contributing? Contact info@afptoronto.org to find out more.

The AFP Greater Toronto Chapter’s Committee on Directorship is looking for individuals to join the Chapter’s Board of Directors. We’re looking for members who have a strong commitment to the fundraising profession through service to AFP, other professional associations and the community at large.

These attributes, together with demonstrated leadership skills that reflect the communities we serve, will all be considered by the Committee on Directorship. A candidate should be prepared to discuss their interest in and potential contribution to AFP and the broader sector community.

The Chapter Board of Directors oversees the strategy, business, and brand of the AFP Greater Toronto Chapter as it relates to our Strategic Plan, policies and membership needs. We are the largest Chapter in the world and the Board currently has seventeen members.

If you are interested in learning more about this process and the criteria through which applicants are considered, please click here for details and to apply.

Thank you in advance for your interest and involvement with AFP. We wish you continued success in 2019!

As part of #AFPCongress2018, we stayed true to our theme of disRupTing philanthropy by disrupting the way we deliver some of our unique, one-of-a-kind Congress content. For the first-time ever in Congress history, we recorded sessions live for a special AFP Congress podcast series that you can listen to on-the-go to gain inspiration & motivation as you move through your workday, on your commute to and from the office, and even as you enjoy your weekend…with podcasts, the choice of when and where to listen is yours!

What you’ll hear in each of these episodes is Congress come to life – the real sounds and conversations that our talented presenters and audience members had during the three days of Congress (November 19-21, 2018). Read more »

Charities have a harder job than most when it comes to their marketing. While most brands offer their customers something in return for their custom, charities have to appeal to their donors’ generosity to see donations — easier said than done.

Charities need to up their game to see results. As a consequence, their marketing campaigns are often creative, innovative, and truly inspiring. Here are four of the best (and what you can learn from them).

Save The Children (UK)

Back in 2014, the UK-based charity Save The Children partnered with creative agency Don’t Panic to arguably create the most hard-hitting marketing campaign on this list. Titled If London Were Syria (or Most Shocking Second a Day on YouTube), the first ad followed the life of a London schoolgirl whose life is turned upside-down when a civil war erupts in the UK. Created to bring the plight of Syrian child refugees to an otherwise distant audience, the ad was followed up two years later by another video following the same girl as she continues to survive in a war-torn UK.

What you can learn from it: charities often work with terrible events or situations that seem unimaginable to western audiences.

War, genocide, and even domestic issues such as homelessness are incomprehensible to most donors. But by making these things relatable to your audience, even by forcing them to painfully confront these issues as Save The Children did, you’ll create an effective and impactful marketing campaign. Read more »

Content marketing has evolved drastically over the years and a new trend of the future has made its entrance in the arena – podcasting. Podcasting is now working its way towards becoming an essential part of the marketing mix and if you are looking for ways to improve your business’ reach and visibility, it is certainly a method worth exploring.

Although beneficial in numerous ways, podcasting is not as simple as it sounds. While some would prefer to prepare podcasts solo, others choose to benefit from the professional services of specialists such as Handmadewriting for expert editing to ensure the best quality of the podcast’s content.

But how can podcasting truly add value to your business? Let’s see what the six main reasons for considering podcasting in 2019 are!

Story Telling Engages Customers Better

One of the most difficult tasks of a marketer is to engage customers in a non-intrusive way. According to research, 57% of consumers end up avoiding a brand if it bombards users with marketing content across channels. Podcasting tackles this problem effectively by providing an alternative to communicating with users in a more delicate manner.

Storytelling is among the most vital elements of consumer engagement and should not be underestimated in digital marketing. Podcasting offers a clever way of engaging with consumers by creating valuable stories.

Mobile Friendly

The immense popularity of smartphones in the era we live in opens a door of opportunities for podcasts as part of content marketing and smartphones certainly drive podcast usage. The most convenient way of listening to a podcast is from a mobile device while consumers are stuck in traffic, working out in the gym or enjoying a walk in the park. In other words, podcasting sets the scene for targeting consumers at times when they are in their natural behaviors, relaxing or spending time off social media.

Easy and Cost-Effective

When comparing podcasting to other marketing methods we can see that its turnaround time is quicker, the investments required are smaller and it is relatively easy to create. Of course, marketers will need some level of preparation in terms of necessary devices and technology for higher quality recordings but the investment is nothing compared to TV or radio advertising in the old days. Once you have recorded the discussion and have provided interesting information about your company’s products or services, you have set the perfect theme music and edited, you are ready to review the final podcast product in an instance.

Happy 2019! And welcome to a new year of Advancing Philanthropy reporting that documents our strong belief in Fundraising…The Impact Profession.

We christened the January 2019 issue “Hard Scrabble” for the specific stories it tells and the difficult challenges our members are tackling across the board. “Unending hard work and struggle”— hard scrabble’s dictionary meaning — are common to the articles you will find here, but so are the words “transformation”, “triumph”, and “success.”

ICON Highlights: Take a sneak peek inside ICON 2019 by reading “An AFP Insider’s Look at Mission City,” as told by former AFP San Antonio chapter leader Lynne Dean. Get to know our terrific 2019 plenary speakers, Spencer West and Soledad O’Brien, in Q & As that dig deep into their remarkable “Life Stories.” And obtain the most for your time and money with productivity guru Chad Barger’s guide to the biggest fundraising conference on earth.

Back to the day-in, day-out nitty gritty, settle down with the special section on “Rethinking Capital Campaigns.” Its twelve pages are packed with insights into the future of capital campaigns, trends you need to know, the new role of campaign consultants, and data-driven fundraising as well as inspiring case studies from Alaska to Delaware to New York City.

Above all, please send your comments and suggestions to me at Susan.Swift@afpglobal.org or call me at 703 519 8489 to engage with AP regarding future issues of your membership magazine and web-only content now under construction. We look forward to hearing from you.